Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 274 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.64 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.16.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $217,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 630,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,421,282. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock valued at $12,833,664 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.